Airline: long flights profitable again

Air New Zealand says its long-distance international flights are profitable again for the first time since the global financial slowdown began.

The national carrier announced Thursday its half-year profits before tax had tripled to $116 million. After-tax profits were $83 million.

Christopher Luxon, chief executive, said in statement demand is up on domestic routes despite a sluggish economic recovery. He said the long-haul international business returned to the black after changes to its network of flights and improvements in its sales execution.

Court rejects ‘phony tax deductions’

WASHINGTON

A federal court in Louisiana is rejecting transactions by The Dow Chemical Co. that created $1 billion in what the U.S. Justice Department calls “phony tax deductions.”

Justice said Wednesday that the tax-reduction scheme was created by Goldman Sachs and the law firm of King & Spalding.

It involved creating a partnership that Dow operated out of its European headquarters in Switzerland.

Justice said Chief Judge Brian Jackson ruled correctly in saying that the tax benefits created by the scheme were artificial and that the corporate structure was created to exploit weaknesses in the tax code, not for legitimate business reasons.